Ford Mustang Ecoboost Australian preview drive

Legendary Melbourne Cup winner, Phar Lap, had a huge heart and is considered one reason behind its success.

A huge heart has also helped the Ford Mustang achieve iconic status as the muscle car poster child ever since it galloped onto the scene in 1964.

But is the new-age Pony Car as exciting without a V8 under its nose? That's a question we got to answer this week with a brief canter in the four-cylinder Ecoboost Mustang at Ford's You Yangs Proving Ground as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations.

The sixth-generation Mustang is set to officially go on-sale in Australia next month; the first time the American icon has been available locally since a small batch of high-performance Cobra models were converted to right-hand drive by Tickford, Ford Australia's high-performance partner that became FPV.

The car is already a sell-out success, with 4000 customers placing deposits on the entire initial allocation; a situation that has stretched the waiting list out to 2017 and, this week, pressured Ford to increase the price by $1000 on the four-pot models and $2500 on the V8-powered GT variants.

While the majority of those have opted for the 5.0-litre V8 - which is not surprising considering the badge's heritage and Australian's penchant for power and performance - the Ecoboost is still no slouch.

Its smaller heart is a 2.3-litre turbocharged four cylinder that generates a healthy 233kW and 432Nm. While that is down on the 306kW and 530Nm outputs produced by the V8, the Ecoboost can still slingshot its way from 0-100km/h in a claimed 5.8 seconds (which is just a second slower than its bigger brother) while using less fuel with a combined average of 9.8L/100km/h.

2015 Ford Mustang Ecoboost Photo: Supplied

Paired with a six-speed automatic in the Coupe and Convertible variants we drove on the 2.5-kilometre Ride and Handling circuit at You Yangs, the engine has enough pulling power to gently motor along without any fuss. But without any undulations, we'll reserve judgement on whether it hunts through the transmission to shift its 1629kg kerb mass in the real world.

Related Content

At a leisurely pace, it's exhaust note is largely isolated from the cabin but dip the throttle and, after a momentary wait as its turbo builds boost, it fires up with a raspy soundtrack supported by a faint whistle from the compressor. It's a nice note for a four-potter, and it revs smoothly right the way through the rev range with a linear surge of power as the tacho swings towards its 6500rpm cutout, swiftly building "Ground Speed", but it still feels out a character against its muscle car status.

It might be more a little more engaging with the six-speed manual transmission, as the smooth-shifting automatic is best suited to those that want a more relaxed driving experience. Similarly, the Ecoboost may appeal to customers that just want a slice of American style rather than the whole muscle car character.

As for the rest of the mechanical package, the electric power steering feels natural with good weighting and feedback from the front tyres and the suspension settings are well sorted with a good overall balance between comfort and handling. Again, we'll reserve final judgement until we test it over a variety of surfaces as the You Yangs circuit is largely made up of fresh, smooth bitumen, but it turns-in sharply, has good body control over bumps and the independent rear-end with a limited slip differential offers decent purchase out of tight corners.

Like the exterior, the cabin plays the retro card pretty strongly in terms of its design with deep-set gauges and fighter jet-style toggle switches. But some of the materials - particularly the silver elements - feel a little cheap and chintzy, and the hand brake still sits on the left side of the large centre console, which is a little inconvenient.

The front seats are large and comfortable, the driving position has decent amount of adjustment and there's enough headroom for those over six foot despite its swooping roofline. The twin back seats, on the other hand, are severely compromised with little in the way of leg and head room and suited really to only occasional use or small children.

A quick spin in the Convertible (with the roof up only) confirmed no surprises in that its fabric, folding top introduces more wind noise at high speeds but it doesn't feel flimsy with few of the foibles that usually degrade the ride and handling with less rigidity in the body structure.

In any sense, with a starting price of $45,990 (plus on-road costs) for the Mustang Ecoboost (the automatic costs an additional $2500 and the auto-only Convertible is $54,990) there's a lot to love about the latest-generation Pony Car, even with its smaller heart.

Comments1

Geoff Mifsud — 10 Apr 2017 03:57

How come no safety rating? How can you give it 7/10 when it scores two stars. I know you said there is no kick in the back from the 4 cylinders but don't worry you will get a excellent kick in the back and become paraplegic when you are in a crash!

Please Note: Leave a comment below to ask our expert editors anything related to the article you have just read. Let's start a personal and meaningful conversation!